FRUIT-PIGEONS. 



245 



Series, Vol. I., pp. 232, 2331 describes an example of 

 ■this species in the possession of a friend which was fed 

 upon boiled maize ; it did not long survive. An example 

 was prese'nted to the London Zoological Society in 

 1892. 



PuBrLK-SHOULDERED FRUIT-PiGEON 



(C rocopus p!icenico2}terus). 



The adult male has the crown of the head and the 

 «ar-coverts ash grey; the forehead, lores, and throat 

 greenish ; the neck and breast yellowish green ; front of 

 the mantle occupied by a half-collar of ash grey ; 

 remainder of back, including the scapularies, innermost 

 lesser wing coverts, and tertiaries olive green ; upper 

 tail-ooverts washed with grey ; wing-coverts near bend 

 of wing lilac ; greater coverts bordered with pale 

 yellow, forming an oblique bar across the wing ; flights 

 blackish with narrow pale yellow edges ; tail above grey, 

 yellowish olivaceous at the base; chest, abdomen, 

 tianks, and axiUaries pale grey ; wings, below leaden 

 grey; the coverts with slightly greenish edges; tail 

 below black with a broad terminal grey belt ; bill 

 ■whitish : feet deep yellow ; iris crimson with an outer 

 circle of smalt blue. 



The female differs in having hardly a trace of lilac 

 on the liend of the wing, and the under tail coverts 

 slate gi'ey in the middle, more or less varied with 

 chestnut. Hab. . Eastern portion of the Punjab and 

 Rajpootana. through the North-Western and Central 

 Provinces to Bengal and tlie Eastern Himalayas. 



According to Jerdon (" Birds of India," Vol. III., 

 p. 448), Tickell "states that it breeds in the thick damp 

 forests to the southward, towards Sumbulpore. during 

 the rains. Many breed in various parts of Lower 

 Bengal ; and. as Blyth remarks, in the hot weather, 'not 

 during the rains." 



Hume (" Nests and Eggs of Indian Birds," pp. 

 571, 372) says that this species breeds from March to 

 June. He adds : " I have only myself found two of its 

 nests, both in the Etawah district (where I have taken 

 at least a dozen of those of C. cJiIorii/axli'r). both placed 

 near the outside of large mango-trees, at heights of from 

 20 to 30 feet from the ground, and in the vicinity of 

 ■water. 



" The nests were slight twig-structures, laid upon two 

 or three thin branchlets. forming a horizontal fork, 

 devoid of lining, and perhaps 6 inches in diameter and 

 1 inch in thickness, with a shallow central depression 

 barely i inch in depth. Two is, I believe, the full com- 

 plement of the eggs. 



" The eggs are of the usual Pigeon type, white and 

 glossy, as a rule broad, nearly perfect, ovals, but occa- 

 sionally in this and other species of Green Pigeons a 

 good deal pointed at one end. 



" In length they vary from 1.16 to 1.55. and in 

 "breadth from 0.9 to 1.0; but the average of eighteen 

 eggs is 1.23 by 0.95." 



According to Ram Bramha Sanayl. the superintendent 

 of the Zoological Garden at Calcutta, this bird does not 

 appear to be.-ir captivity well. It is a strange fact, 

 but it is an undoubted one, that many species of 

 tropical origin do not bear captivity in a tropical 

 country (though it be their native one) so well as they 

 do in our inclement land ; either the soaked or parched 

 gram which they constantly get is not sufliciently 

 nourishing, or they need plenty of exercise to enable 

 them to bear the overpowering heat of the climate. 



An example of this species ■was deposited at the 

 Ixindon Zoological Gardens in 1864. and a second speci- 

 ■men was presented the same year. In 1893 it arrived 

 at the Berlin Gardens. 



Southern Fruit-Pigeon [C roco2iiis chlorogaster) . 



Differs from the preceding species i'n its almost 

 ■wholly grey crown, very slightly tinged with greenish 

 on the forehead ; tail above grey, with scarcely a trace 

 of yellowish-green at the base, or none at all ; the 

 under surface pale yellowish-green. Female differing 

 from the male in the ill-detined purple tinge near the 

 bend of the wing, and the under tail-coverts grey iiv 

 the middle, more or less mixed with chestnut. Hab., 

 India, as far north as Nepal, and Ceylon. 



Colonel Legge ("Birds of Ceylon," Vol. II., pp. 723, 

 724) observes that he was never fortunate enough to 

 meet with this Pigeon. He adds : " As regards this fine 

 Pigeon's habits in C-eylon I know nothing but that it 

 is said by Layard to be very fond of the fruit of the 

 banyan. Jerdon states that ' it comes in large parties, 

 generally about 9 a.m., to certain spots on river-banks 

 to drink, and, after taking a draught of water, occa- 

 sionally walks a few steps to the damp sand, appearing 

 to pick up small pebbles, pieces of gravel or sand.' 

 Their call, he says, ' is very similar to that of the 

 Bengal Green Pigeon " ; but this he does not describe. 

 Like all its fam&y, it is entirely frugivorous in diet. 

 Cajitain Butler states that the berries of the Ficus 

 iiicllra appear to be its favourite food. 



" JVIdificntion. — ^This Green Pigeon breeds throughout 

 Continental India from March till June, making, accord- 

 ing to .Mr. Hume, a typical Dove's nest, and laying two 

 white eggs. Mr. Bl'ewitt, writing concerning nests he 

 found near Hansie, says that they ' were placed on 

 various trees, mostly growing on the canal-b.ank, at 

 heights of from 14 to 18 feet from the ground. They 

 were composed of Shishum, Zizi/phus, and Keeker twigs, 

 in some cases slendei-ly and in others somewhat densely 

 put together. One or two were ab.solutely without 

 lining ; but they were mostly very scantily lined with 

 leaves, feathers, or fine straw.' This is remarkable for 

 a Pigeon's nest, as they usually have no lining at all, 

 and other observers tes"tify to there being none in the 

 case of this .species. The" birds sit very close. Messrs. 

 Hume and Marshall both stating, with regard to nests 

 fomid bv them at different times, that they pelted the 

 bird without her fiving away. The eggs average in 

 size '1.25 by 0.95 iiich.' " A specimen of this species 

 was deposited at the London Zoological Gardens in 1895. 



Nepal Thick-billed Fruit-Pigeon {Treron nipalensis). 



Neck, rump, and upper tail-coverts oUve-gi-een ; 

 mantle and lesser upper -wdng-co verts chestnut ; -wings 

 otherwise, black ; the median and greaiter coverts and 

 secondaries w-ith yellow oclgeis ; middle taiV-feathers olive- 

 green, other feathers grey cw.=ised by a median Mack 

 belt , crown ash>, pajer on tlio forehead ; breast and 

 .■'bdonien olive-gi-een, the fonner faintly tinged -with 

 fulvous ; sides leaden-grey ; flanks green mixed with 

 Avhite ; under tail-coverts cirmaanon ; bill pale yello-wisl; 

 or greenish-'white' tipped with gi-eenis'h, the gap© and 

 base of upper mandible to nostrils bright red ; feet lake 

 —to coral-red ; orbital skin pea-green ; irides valuing 

 from bright orange to yelQowish-red. Female -vvith olive- 

 green in'jjlace ot the chestnut on the plumage above, and 

 the under tail-coverts white or buffish-white. irregularly 

 ban-edi with gi-eon. Hab., " East*.™ Bengal and South- 

 Eastern Himalayas, extends down the Malay Peninsula 

 to Siunatra, Borneo, and the Philippines ; it occurs also 

 in Siam and Cochin-China.'" (Salvadori.) 



Jerdon does not describe the habits of this speciea, 

 but merely comments up>n its extremely strong bill. 



The laite ColoneJ Charles T. Bingham found nests in 

 Tenasserim, respecting which I quote from Hume's 



